December 2022--Week 1 Meals

 Week one of meals started December 4th!  I didn't take pictures of the meals, I'll do that in January, but I will post the links to the recipes for everyone!

Night 1: Slow Cook Poor Man's Stew! 

This was delicious!  One thing I'm really bad for, is taking out the ingredients that I don't like (onion, green peppers, etc.) but this challenge, I told myself I would make the dishes true to form!  This made a lot of food, I was able to give some to my parents.  My parents essentially live in front of us, my mom is always asking us "what's for dinner" (I'm telling you, my husband is an amazing cook!).  So anytime we have something left over, we make sure we give them some.  December in North Carolina has been really cold, so a stew on a cold Sunday was perfect!  Anything I can throw in the crockpot and forget, is my kind of meal!  This was a keeper in my family!  

https://100krecipes.com/slow-cooker-poor-mans-stew/ 

Night 2: Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie with biscuits

Note, on the calendar, this was supposed to be Christmas Cheer party night, but I got my dates all mixed up, so I had to switch up the weeks here!

This was another delicious meal!  I am a HUGE fan of chicken pot pie.  My husband has made it from scratch so many times for me, and he even will do homemade biscuits as the top layer--yum!  So this was my deconstructed version of chicken pot pie.  Crock pot again, set it and forget it!  And then biscuits from the can to pair with it.  Another easy meal and a for sure keeper!

https://balancingmotherhood.com/crockpot-chicken-pot-pie/ 

Night 3: Scott and I attended the Fireman's Christmas Party--Steak, Baked Potatoes and Salad!  The kids went with Mema and Papa to Chick-Fil-A :)

Some of my work family with Santa!

Night 4: Million Dollar Chicken Casserole with Roasted Broccoli

This was an easy meal to cook.  I used my pressure cooker to make the chicken, then chopped it up, added it to the casserole and popped it in the oven.  However, this was NOT a favorite from my family.  I'm not sure if it was the combination of cream cheese and sour cream, or not having enough chicken in it...however, it wasn't for us.  This one we have taken out of the meal mix.  Just because we won't a fan, doesn't mean your family won't like it!

https://www.plainchicken.com/million-dollar-chicken-casserole/

Night 5: Ham and Cheese sliders with chips

Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually full with basketball games for Kaitlin.  When she cheers for basketball, we usually don't get home until 6:30 or 7:00.  So I try to choose meals that are easy to make, so for this night I did sliders!  Kaitlin wasn't a huge fan because of the onion taste.  Scott loved them, but said maybe not for a meal.  I thought they were great!  They were super easy to make, open up the Hawaiian rolls, add the ham and cheese, mix a sauce and pop in the oven!  It was a keeper for sure, maybe for a lunch instead of a dinner next time :)

https://www.simplejoy.com/ham-and-cheese-sliders/

Night 6: Blank night, which means my family can enjoy a night out at a restaurant!  For us, ask anyone, that's usually Buffalo Wild Wings!

Night 7: Left Over/Clean out fridge night!!!  

This is something I HATE to do, but doing it once a week makes it a little more tolerable for me!  We finished off the sliders and the chicken pot pie.  There was no stew left because Scott ate that for lunch during the week, which was perfect!  

I would say, week 1 was a success!  Can't wait to share more with you!